Building Momentum in Venture Capital Across Europe – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom
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France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom ∆Building Momentum in Venture Capital across Europe Imprint Published by Bpifrance 27–31, avenue du Général Leclerc 94710 Maisons-Alfort Cedex, France www.bpifrance.fr Cassa depositi e prestiti SpA (CDP) Via Goito 4 00185 Rome, Italy www.cdp.it Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) Paseo del Prado 4 28014 Madrid, Spain www.ico.es British Business Bank Foundry House 3 Millsands Sheffield S3 8NH, United Kingdom www.british-business-bank.co.uk KfW Bankengruppe (KfW) Palmengartenstraße 5-9 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany www.kfw.de Authors Miguel Fernández Acevedo (ICO) Matt Adey, British Business Bank Claudio Bruno (CDP) Gino del Bufalo (CDP) Alexandre Gazaniol, Bpifrance Dr Vivien Lo (KfW) Dr Georg Metzger (KfW) Blanca Navarro Perez (ICO) Dan van der Schans, British Business Bank Baptiste Thornary, Bpifrance Editor Dr Georg Metzger (KfW) Layout and Design Bettina Apfelbach (KfW) Iris Brandt (KfW) Picture Credits Getty Images / Photograf Westend61 December 2016 Table of Contents Greetings 5 Foreword 7 1. General Part 11 1.1 Venture capital: what it is and why it is important 13 1.2 The EU venture capital market 14 1.3 Fostering the European VC market 23 1.4 Recommendations for building momentum in the venture capital markets in Europe 26 2. Country Reports 29 2.1 France 31 2.1.1 Development of the VC market 31 2.1.2 Role of public institutions 32 2.1.3 Specific challenges and needs 33 2.1.4 Policy recommendations 34 2.2 Germany 35 2.2.1 Development of the VC market 35 2.2.2 Role of the national development bank 37 2.2.3 Specific challenges and needs 38 2.2.4 Policy recommendations 40 2.3 Italy 41 2.3.1 Development of the VC market 41 2.3.2 Role of public financial institutions 43 2.3.3 Specific challenges and needs 44 2.3.4 Policy recommendations 46 2.4 Spain 47 2.4.1 Development of the VC market 47 2.4.2 Public policies in VC 48 2.4.3 Specific challenges and needs 49 2.4.4 Policy recommendations 51 2.5 United Kingdom 53 2.5.1 Development of the VC market 53 2.5.2 Role of the national development bank 54 2.5.3 Specific challenges and needs 56 2.5.4 Policy recommendations 56 References 59 Appendix 61 List of Figures Figure 1: Fundraising of VC firms in the EU hit hard by financial crisis 15 Figure 2: Government agencies most important source of VC funds in Europe 15 Figure 3: Venture investments by VC firms located in the EU almost halved after 2008 16 Figure 4: Divergent development of VC investments in selected countries 17 Figure 5: VC investments rates in the United States far ahead of EU countries 18 Figure 6: UK accounts for a quarter of the EU VC market 18 Figure 7: Average VC-backed US company receives five-times more VC than its EU counterpart 18 Figure 8: VC investment in Top 10 OECD VC markets by stages of investment, 2014 19 Figure 9: Breakdown of average VC deal size, 2015 19 Figure 10: Venture capital invested at company level by stage and number of deals 19 Figure 11: Number of VC deals in the United States by stage, 2015 20 Figure 12: VC investment by stages, USA and Europe, 2015 20 Figure 13: Venture capital invested at company level and number of deals 21 Figure 14: Breakdown of average VC deal size over the last 5 years 21 Figure 15: Total amount rose by VCAP funds of funds 22 Figure 16: Breakdown of total VC funds invested by stage, in per cent, 2015 22 Figure 17: Annual average exit size for deals above CAD 100 m, 2011–2015 22 Figure 18: Amounts invested in French VC funds by investor type 31 Figure 19: Less French funds raise more capital 31 Figure 20: Investments by French VC firms 32 Figure 21: Investments in French companies 32 Figure 22: Performance of French VC funds since origin 33 Figure 23: Evolution of divestments in the Spanish VC sector (number) 34 Figure 24: Evolution of divestments in the Spanish VC sector (amounts) 34 Figure 25: Government, corporates and private individuals fund the German VC market 35 Figure 26: Fundraising of German VC firms 36 Figure 27: Investments by German VC firms 36 Figure 28: VC investments into German companies 36 Figure 29: Development of business climate and demand in German VC market 37 Figure 30: Development of exit activity 38 Figure 31: Exits by sale of silent partnerships dominate and write-offs account for 80 % of deals 39 Figure 32: Post-crisis IPOs in Germany still few, while IPOs in the US recovered fast 39 Figure 33: US companies fuelled with significantly more VC – at every development stage 40 Figure 34: Fundraising of Italian VC firms 41 Figure 35: Investments by Italian VC firms 42 Figure 36: VC investments into Italian companies 42 Figure 37: VC divestments by exit route 45 Figure 38: IPOs at Borsa Italiana 45 Figure 39: Total funds raised by Spanish VC firms 47 Figure 40: Investments by Spanish VC firms 48 Figure 41: VC investments into Spanish companies 48 Figure 42: Investments of Fond-ICO Global and of other investors in the Spanish VC market 49 Figure 43: Average fund size of Spanish private equity companies 50 Figure 44: Volume of VC divestments in Spain 50 Figure 45: Number of VC divestments in Spain 50 Figure 46: VC investment rate fell to a low level 51 Figure 47: Venture Capital Funds raised per year by fund stage focus 53 Figure 48: VC investments into UK companies 54 Figure 49: VC investments by UK VC firms (funds) 54 France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom Building Momentum in Venture Capital across Europe Greetings “Europe's economy is about the same size as that of the US, but our capital markets are only half their size. Our corporate bond market is a third of the size; our venture capital markets a fifth. US SMEs get about five times more funding from capital markets than in Europe.“ (Lord Hill speaking at the Bruges European Business Conference on 18 March 2016). These figures only partially describe the challenges facing the European Union today. The tightening of banking regulations affects traditional lending to SMEs. The weak balance sheets of some financial institutions, the ageing population, growing competition in the area of innovation, the shortening of investment cycles, and the emergence of new competitors around the world are just a few of the issues we face. National Promotional Banks and Institutions have for many decades played an important role in financing start-ups. As a result, we have acquired considerable insight into our respective markets and have closely followed their developments. Part of this is brought together in this report in order to benefit from each other’s experience. Having done so, we hope to contribute to the Venture Capital debate taking place within the European Commission, but also within other EU institutions and in our respective countries. What can be done to overcome the large fragmentation of the Venture Capital market in the EU? What are the success factors for Venture Capital funds in the EU in comparison to those in North America? And not least, to what extent can national and EU financial instruments help EU start-ups to rise to innovation and growth challenges? These and many other questions have been addressed in this joint study. Nicolas Dufourcq Dr. Fabio Gallia Directeur Général of Bpifrance Chief Executive Officer of Maisons-Alfort Cedex, France Cassa depositi e prestiti SpA Rome, Italy Pablo Zalba Bidegain Dr Ulrich Schröder Chief Executive Officer of Chief Executive Officer of Instituto de Crédito Oficial KfW Bankengruppe Madrid, Spain Frankfurt am Main, Germany Keith Morgan Chief Executive Officer of British Business Bank Sheffield, United Kingdom Foreword Innovation is changing the world, producing new opportunities to which we must continually adapt if we are to play a key role in the global economy. If Europe is to be successful in developing the significant technologies of the future and realising their benefits in global markets, our capacity for innovation needs to increase and the skill level of our workforce must improve. Strengthening the foundation of innovative, growth-oriented start-ups and providing the best conditions for their development is, therefore, more necessary than ever. Access to venture capital is an important success factor for these enterprises. However, the size and depth of European venture capital markets lag behind those of other leading global econo- mies. For instance, the amount of venture capital provided by US inves- tors to start-ups amounts to 0.211 % of GDP per annum on average – more than seven times the EU average. Within Europe, venture capital markets in individual countries also vary greatly in terms of their size and stage of development. Public interventions significantly contribute to the functioning of European venture capital markets and play an important role in helping them develop into more stable and liquid markets, increasing their positive effects on the wider economy. As we can learn from US pioneer experien- ces, this is a long-term mission. This report on the national venture capital markets in Europe is the second cooperative research project by the promotional banks of the four largest Euro area economies – Bpifrance, KfW Bankengruppe (KfW), Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO). This year, the British Business Bank, the UK’s national development bank has joined the group, providing first-hand knowledge and experience regarding Europe’s largest VC market.